Severance
by Tiana-P
Summary: It had to come to an end soon. He knew it did. The lying and the sneaking around wasn't what they did.' Spoilers for 8.23, 'Time Bomb'. E/C
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Right, this is my second oneshot/twoshot based off of episode spoilers. As with the last, it focuses on E/C so that chances of this actually happening on the show is pretty low because we all know that TPTB like to torture us with minimal E/C scenes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Please R&R and let me know if I should leave it as a oneshot, or continue it into a twoshot... =D_

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It was the buzzing of his cell phone that began his day. Regardless of the fact that it was kept on silent, Eric woke up when it vibrated against the wooden top of his bedside table once again. He had become a light sleeper lately. Something that he had put down to always having to be on alert recently, along with the stress of what his current job entailed him to do. Put that together with the fact that he was living a semi-lie in regards to what his job actually was, there wasn't much of a surprise that he was finding it a hard time sleeping peacefully.

Reaching out for the phone before it alerted him once again about the text message, he scrolled through it quickly, reading it twice over to memorise the important facts before deleting it. Guilt swept through him as the confirmation of the deletion blinked on the screen, especially he felt the arm around his waist tighten. The owner of the arm cuddled into him a bit more before letting out a quiet sigh that he could only label as content and only made him feel ten times worse.

It had to come to an end soon. He knew it did. The lying and the sneaking around wasn't what they did. At least, Eric thought to himself, not what they did anymore. They had an open relationship where they could tell each other anything and everything. One that included small things, such as laptop passwords and mobile pin codes, and major things, like their biggest fears and secrets. The former was the reason why he had deleted the text message, and the latter being the reason why his stomach churned with guilt.

Although he knew she would never intentionally go through his phone, there were instances where he would have to part from it and Calleigh may answer if it deemed important enough to. Especially since she had called him out on the fact that he wouldn't stay 4 feet away from his cell, teasingly asking if he had something on the side that he didn't want her to know about. He had managed to laugh it off, knowing that the 'something' that she had been thinking about and the 'something' he had been thinking about were two completely different things, stating that being back at CSI was the reason behind it. Eric had reasoned with himself that it hadn't been a total lie, and had been glad when the conversation had changed course from a serious one about their jobs to a more playful one about her being jealous.

Deciding to push the thoughts out of his head for then, he replaced his phone back onto the bedside table and looked down at the blonde next to him. Using his free hand, Eric pushed back the tendril of hair that had fallen across her face and was gently tickling his shoulder where her head rested upon. With one of her legs tangled with his, and the arm that was securely wrapped around his midsection, he began to wonder how he was going to leave without waking her. In the year that they had been together, he had never successfully done so before.

Eric kept the arm that held her to him around her body as he carefully began to extract himself from their twined position. It wasn't too hard to gently shift her leg off of his, or to eventually slid out his arm from around her shoulders and place her head softly onto the pillow, but when it came to removing _her _arm from around him, she began to awake.

Knowing there was no use in trying to pretend that nothing had happened, he carried on with what he had been doing; finally getting completely away and sitting at the edge of the bed. Eric twisted around when he heard the sheets rustle, watching as sleepy green eyes blinked open at long intervals.

"Shh… I didn't mean to wake you." He whispered, laying a hand on her back and rubbing it soothingly, hoping to coax her back into the dreamland that he had snatched her from. "Go back to sleep, baby. Go back to sleep."

"Where-?" Calleigh muttered, already giving in to the sleep that was trying to claim her.

"Work." Eric told her, chuckling quietly when he saw her frown at his answer, even in her half-asleep state. "I'll see you later."

A low hum of agreement told him that she had taken his word for what it was and fallen back asleep. Stilling his hand, Eric let it rest for a moment on her back, simply watching her breath as she slept. It was something that he could do forever; something that he had almost thrown away more than once.

The last thought made him retract his hand as if he had been burnt. It wasn't a pleasant thought, nor had it been a pleasant time when the opportunity to do what he was currently doing hadn't been there. And it definitely wasn't something that he was going to suffer through anytime soon. He had justified what he was doing as it being his job, and that she would understand. Because if there was anyone who would understand why he was doing what he was doing, it was Calleigh.

…

Waking up to an empty bed wasn't something that she was use to. At least, not recently. Ever since Eric had come back to CSI, even if it was while working with the S.A.'s office, they rarely ever had an early morning call out. Of course, there had been an odd couple, but they usually involved just her or the both of them.

Calleigh stretched out onto her back, glancing at the glowing red numbers on the clock at the opposite side of the bed. The sun was already up, but it was still an hour too early for her. Falling back asleep would be perfect, and she was well on her way to doing so when she heard the familiar sounds of someone in the kitchen. Laying still to hear closely, she was able to work out the sound of gushing water and metal against metal; most probably the sink, she concluded.

The argument in her head about whether to get up or not was over before she could even think of another reason past the fact he was still there. Pushing aside the sheets, Calleigh swung her legs over the side of the bed before standing up. There was a brief spinning sensation as she got up too fast, and most likely due to a certain shortage of sleep, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut to let it pass.

When it had, she brushed it off and carried on with what she had intended on doing so in the first place. Making sure that the shirt she had on was covering her at least modestly, Calleigh walked with faint steps towards the source of the sound. With bare feet, not only was she quiet, but also short and felt quite vulnerable. It wasn't a feeling that she let herself divulge in frequently, but at home, regardless hers or his, it was unavoidable.

"Hey." She greeted him as she approached the kitchen area of the condo. Her appearance had clearly taken him by surprise if the look of shock on his face, that was quickly replaced with a relaxed smile, was anything to go by.

"I thought I told you to go back to sleep?" Eric joked, speaking even as he made his way around the room to grab certain things that he would need.

"I did." Calleigh replied, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter as she watched him pocket his phone. "Where are you off to?"

"I told you; work." He answered with a nonchalant laugh, picking up his keys from the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Yeah, but-" She began, her voice neutral and innocent as always even as her brow furrowed slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to get going." Eric cut her off, internally wincing at the flash of hurt that she covered up before he could even blink.

"Ok." Calleigh merely said, nodding and putting on a small smile that she knew he could tell was forced as he approached her.

"Sorry." He murmured, pressing his lips to hers and letting them linger for a few seconds longer than what would be a chaste kiss. "Later, ok? I promise."

"Ok." She repeated, following him with her eyes as he disappeared out of the room with a finally smile. It wasn't until she heard the front door shut did she relax her stance and uncross her arms. A frown was making it's way to her mouth as she thought about the haste that he had been to get out of there.

Chewing on her thumbnail, a habit that she had found out to have picked up ever since getting together with Eric, Calleigh stared at her toes as she thought about it. Urging herself to remain calm and collected like she was known and proud to be, she couldn't help but to piece together the facts.

There were the secret texts and phone calls, the sleepless nights, the _"we'll take later"_s that never happened, the sudden meetings he had to go to, not to mention the few late nights he pulled at work, and now the rushing. It sounded needy, but she couldn't help but feel dejected. Ever since she had known him, and more so now, Eric had always made time for her, no matter what, where, when or why.

Sighing before she drove herself insane, Calleigh shook her head and ran a hand through her tousled hair. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to go back asleep now, she headed towards the bathroom with the intention of an extra long shower. If it didn't wipe away her uneasiness, it would sure as hell make her feel better in a more physical way, and she was going to need that extra confidence if she was going to get through today.

…

Calleigh glanced down at her watch for the 5th time in as many minutes. She had always been a firm believer in never watching the time for it would always pass slower, but right then, it didn't even pass her mind to stop herself.

For the past 3 hours, she had managed to keep herself busy with cold cases, checking ballistic reports and writing her own. There was a dry spell of crime that day, which was something that they had learnt to never vocalise in fear of jinxing it. However, being that she had been at work for 3 hours, it was also a good 5 hours since she had seen Eric. Eric, who had told her he had been heading to work, and Eric, who she hadn't seen around the lab once since.

Filling in the last part of the official forms, Calleigh gathered it all together into a folder and stood up, heading straight for Horatio's office. It was rare to ever find him in there; being in charge of the crime lab itself was a hectic job, so she was pleasantly surprised to see her boss at his desk doing the same job as the rest of them were most probably doing.

Knocking on the glass door, she pushed it open slightly when Horatio's head snapped up to look at her. He didn't need to say anything for her to know he had granted her permission to enter. Letting the door shut behind her on it's own, Calleigh crossed over to the desk and gently placed down the folder in her hand onto it.

"Nice day, huh?" She asked him with her typical sunny smile that he reflected with his own.

"It certainly is." He replied, knowing exactly what she meant. Horatio was all too privy to the superstitious talk around his lab, and how even those who claimed not to believe in such voodoo stuck to this one particular rule. "All done?"

"Yup." Calleigh confirmed, tapping it lightly with the tips of her nails. "A bit late but… It's been a bit busy around here, you know? With the diamonds going missing and everything."

"I understand, Calleigh." Horatio assured her. She simply nodded at his words, looking out of the window at the clear blue sky and the beautiful gleaming sun. "Was there something else, ma'am?"

Opening her mouth to say something, Calleigh hesitated as a flow of thoughts came to her. She shut her mouth as soon as they hit her. The first and foremost was that she didn't mix her private life with professional, even if they had merged together a long time ago. With a small shake of the head, to both Horatio and to herself, she pushed it all to the back of her head and took a step away.

"Actually," She paused, turning back around from where she had made it halfway towards the door. Folding her arms loosely, she put on the most calm façade that she could, compelling herself to remain calm as she heard her light voice begin to shake a bit. "You haven't seen Eric lately, have you? It's just, he said he had to come to work early, but I haven't seen him all day."

"Calleigh, I can assure you he's working." Horatio answer slowly, leaning forwards on his desk with his forearms.

"So you've seen him?" She asked, eyebrows raising in surprise as her posture relaxed at his words. That was until she saw her boss clasp his hands together and stare at them intently. It was never good when he did that, Calleigh had learnt that long ago. Especially when he peered up at her with a tilt of the head. "You haven't, have you?"

"I think, you should let him explain." He replied, choosing his words carefully as he always did. She let her eyes fall shut for a moment, contemplating what he could mean. "Calleigh?"

"Yeah." She breathed, nodding automatically before forcing a smile onto her face. "I'm sure it's nothing, right? It can wait."

"Alright." Horatio said indifferently, although his caring eyes told her something else.

"I've got some more cases to go over. I guess I'll get back to them, then." Calleigh changed the subject, not waiting for permission to leave as she began to turn away. "I'll see you later."

There was no response to her words, and to be honest, she hadn't expected one. She was fairly sure she wouldn't have heard it even if he had spoken up. There were too many things whirring around in her head, all to do with her currently AWOL boyfriend who she feared was up to no good.

The last thought was boxed away as soon as she had thought it. If Horatio had assured he was working, then he must have been. A stab of guilt hit her at the realisation that she was doubting Eric's actions and words, but Calleigh had a whole list ready at the forefront of her mind to justify it. To add to the list was the fact that he had done this before to her, only that time, not even Horatio had known.

Calleigh froze in the middle of the corridor that took her from her boss' office to her lab as something new occurred to her. After the incident with Sharova, it had taken a lot of time and talking to get back to the relationship that they had had before it. In fact, it had made them stronger, but it hadn't been before a lot of compromises and apologizes from the both of them. Him for lying to her and going against what he had said, and her for shooting at him.

It had also made them face a lot of facts. Primarily; Eric was forever in danger of the Russian mob. Even with Sharova removing the hit and leaving the mob, his time there wouldn't have been without making a few people upset. People who, with the 'disappearance' of Sharova himself, would go for the next best thing. It was something that had feared her from the beginning, and him even more at the thought of them perhaps getting to her.

So they had compromised. Instead of worrying about it everyday and looking over their shoulders, they took small precautions. The first one that Calleigh had suggested was a GPS tracker in their own cars, and as she made a detour to the A/V lab, she was glad of it. The consequences of doing what she was about to do could be dire, she knew, but there was much more at stake than whatever Eric might be doing. She was losing trust in him, fast, and this was the only way she could think of to get it back.

…

Letting out a sigh of exhaustion, Eric rested his head back against the car seat. It was just passing midday, and already he had had enough. This wasn't what he was use to, and it sure wasn't what he liked doing. But, unfortunately, he had no choice. Not when there was something he could do to help.

The sight of an approaching car on the other side of the car park, right across the green in between, made him sit up straight again. It was a familiar silver model that he had met too many times recently.

Picking up the folder from the seat next to him, Eric climbed out of his own car and began to make his way over. There was a makeshift path that ran parallel to the green, shortening the journey from where he was to his destination. He had gotten only a third of the way there when he looked around once again; double checking to see that he wasn't being watched. There was an odd feeling in him, a sixth sense telling him there were eyes on him. Trying to be as subtle as he could, Eric swept his eyes over the surrounding area, including the passing roads and entrances to the car park itself.

Suddenly, he stopped. The feeling of eyes burning into him was explained the instant he spotted the familiar Hummer on the other side of the road from where he had parked his own car. A series of motions went through his head; looking both left and right between the car he was heading to and the one he had turned back to as he tried to decide which one he should deal with first. That decision, however, was made for him when he caught the eye of the driver of the CSI owned car. There was no way he could turn away from her this time.

Eric knew that his pausing and taking another few steps back towards his own car was signal enough for the blonde, and he wasn't disappointed when she opened her car door and stepped out. Despite the situation, place and look of pure disbelief on her face, he couldn't help but to admire her calm stance as she made her way over to him. She walked with the same pace as ever, not bothering to rush even though he could tell that she wanted to.

Meeting her halfway, they left a bit of space between them when they both stopped.

"How did you find me?" He simply asked her, trying to keep his voice neutral as possible.

"Does it matter?" Calleigh replied coolly.

"Yes." Eric nodded. "I need to know if anyone else could have followed me."

His words made her narrow her eyes for a second before she let them avert to the side. There were a lot of emotions playing on her face, he noticed now that he could see her closer. But more than that, he could see the defence and the walls she had put up with her stiff demeanour, and it stung to know it was because of him.

"GPS tracker." She stated, looking back at him. It took a moment for him to recall what she was talking about, but as soon as the penny dropped, he couldn't keep back the anger that flared inside of him.

"You _what_?" Eric asked in a low, harsh voice. "This is not what that was for, Calleigh!"

"No?" She questioned incredulously.

"No!" He reiterated in the same tone, trying to control himself before he did something he regretted. "It was meant for if something happened."

"Like if you suddenly went off the grid?" Calleigh asked sceptically, eyes boring into his as if to challenge him to tell her different. "Like today, where I've been trying to get in contact with you for the past 3 hours?"

"I _told _you I was working." Eric said, getting his voice down to a more steady tone.

"Yes, but correct me if I'm wrong, Eric, but you work with me now." She informed him matter-of-factly. "Yet, I've been at work, and you haven't. No-one's seen you all day."

"Calleigh-" He sighed, rubbing his forehead as he realised just how it must have seemed to her. He had had to switch his phone off earlier that morning, and then put it on silent. Every time he had seen a call from the blonde in front of him, Eric had to use every ounce of willpower to go against answering it, knowing it wouldn't be a work call. "Cal-"

"What, Eric?" She interrupted him softly. Concern now coloured her words as she took a single step closer to him, and even though the space between them was still quite reasonably big, it was a comfort to him. "What's going on, Eric? What aren't you telling me?"

"I can't-" He broke off, not sure how to word what he wanted to say. Telling her that he couldn't would just hurt her, but telling her might just hurt her even more. Swallowing, Eric looked off to the side, away from all the cars, before staring back at her with as much honestly as he could portray, hoping she would take it. "Later. Please?"

"No." Calleigh said simply with a single shake of the head, stopping all of his thoughts and actions. An exasperated sigh left her lips as she ran a hand through her hair before letting it drop down again. "It's always 'later' with you, Eric. But 'later' never comes."

"Calleigh, I promise-"

"I don't want your promises, Eric. I can't _trust_ your promises." She told him honestly. The words hit him hard; she could tell by the way he started suddenly and Calleigh lowered her voice as she carried on to make it sound less harsh. "I'm sorry. I just- I need to know what's going on. It's been too long and I'm scared that if I leave it to ignorance any longer, I'm going to lose you."

"'Ignorance'? What-?" He started in confusion, the state only increasing when she shook her head incredulously at him.

"C'mon, Eric. We both know it's been going on for a while. The calls and messages, the secret jobs, being tired all the time. Even the tension at work. Natalia can hardly stay in the same room with you longer than necessary, and she's even started to avoid me." She listed out loud for the first time, not realising just how much her tone had taken to pleading. "What's going on?"

It took a bit longer for him to put it all together, what her words could mean. He hadn't known that she had began to notice the little things that he thought he had covered up pretty well. But by the look of worry and need of reassurance in her eyes along with the softness in her voice that told him she was controlling herself as well as she could, there was only one thing that came to his mind with a startling realisation.

"You think I'm _cheating _on you?" Eric asked her in shock, voice dropping to a whisper.

"N-" Calleigh quickly began, only for him to carry on without hearing her and she wondered if she really did seem that insecure right then.

"I'm not! I wouldn't. You _know _how much I love you." He told her in a steady voice, rubbing a hand over his hair as he did so. "_Especially _not with Natalia. That's the past-"

"I know! And I know you wouldn't." She finally stopped his tirade, deciding that she didn't need to hear any more. It might not be true, and she was fairly sure it never would be, but it still wasn't something she wasn't to think about. Instead, she inhaled deeply as he did the complete opposite. There was a tension to him that she could see had loosened significantly from a few minutes earlier, which only brought her back to the matter at hand. "But you are hiding something." Calleigh saw his eyes snap back to her from where they had fallen slightly with a hint of fear. "You've hidden things before, and I almost lost you then."

"This isn't the same." Eric assured her immediately, before continuing with something that he hoped she would believe. "I _promise_. This is… Legit."

"'Legit'?" Calleigh repeated in confusion. He gave no verbal response to her question, merely staring at her with a look that told her that he was trying to think of something to say.

Eric knew that the time had came to be completely honest. There was no way he was getting out of it without serious consequences if he didn't, and if he were honest with himself, he was _glad_ that he didn't really have much of a choice. Peering over his shoulder quickly to the car that he had been waiting for, Eric wasn't surprised at all to see that the driver of it was already standing by the front of it, staring off in the distance to fake nonchalance and nostalgia and blend in to the area.

"Is that Rebecca Nevins?" The woman with him asked him in disbelief, bringing him back to their conversation that he had somehow drifted away from. She was looking over his shoulder at the person he had been looking at. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised; he hadn't been discrete and she _was_ a CSI.

"It's complicated, ok?" Eric informed her with a heavy sigh. When his words seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever, he placed a gentle hand on her arm, relieved beyond words when she didn't shake it off or tense, and guided her to the side where they would be out of sight from the other woman. "C'mon, come here for a second."

"What's complicated? You work for the S.A.'s office, and so does she." Calleigh stated in her normal clear-cut way, allowing him to take them a few feet to her left without a second thought about it.

"I know. But this isn't something…" Eric trailed off, frowning, letting go of her arm after skimming his hand down it and over her hand with a whisper of a touch.

"Something…?" She prompted him, showing no hostile emotions as she tried her best to get all the information. Instead of replying, he looked over his shoulder once again before holding out the file that was in his hand. He knew that he could get into a whole load of trouble for it, but there was no other way for him to explain properly. "What is it?"

"I told you I was investigation the stolen diamonds." He said, staring her dead in the eye even as she took the proffered file and opened it. She nodded when she agreed as if to make sure she still believed him, ensuring him that she was truly prepared to listen to him. "I'm also investigating other missing pieces of evidence."

"There's other evidence missing too?" Calleigh asked in shock, glancing between him and the papers in her hands that she was quickly scanning through. "Why didn't we know?"

"It was kept under the radar because it were just small things. Until the diamond heist. That's when the S.A. decided to step in." He explained carefully.

"I don't get it. Are you saying you've been investigating _everything _this the whole time?" She questioned, eyebrows scrunching together as she reached a different type of collection of papers. "Investigating _us_?"

"Calleigh, I had to-" Eric quickly tried to tell her, only to be cut off by an almost inaudible gasp.

"Oh, my God." Calleigh muttered in shock, flicking through the next few pages, seeing that they were all the same before shutting the file and looking up at him with wide eyes. "These are transcripts. You were wearing a wire? Are you wearing one now?"

"No, of course not!" He assured her immediately, not even fighting off her hand as she reached out and pulled away the unbuttoned part of his shirt to check. "Listen to me-" He finally said, grabbing a hold of her hand and holding it tightly in his to claim her attention.

"You've been undercover all this time and you didn't tell me?" She interrupted, and he could tell by her subdued words that she was still trying to get her head around it. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she allowed him to change the grip on her hand to a lighter one as she carried on before he could. "No, I mean, I get that you couldn't, I guess, but the wire, Eric? Did you record _everything_?"

"No." Eric told her without a moment's hesitation. "I _chose_ what to record, what to let them hear."

"But they heard everything else, right?" She asked him, unconsciously tugging gently on his hand. Her shining green eyes, open without any boundaries just for him, told him that she still didn't, or perhaps _couldn't_, believe it all.

He didn't speak for a minute, simply trying to think of the right words to describe exactly what had gone through his head to her. When he realised that there were no words to do such a thing, Eric let out a breath and told her everything that he had been telling himself since taking the job.

"Calleigh, you have to understand. I _had_ to do this. If it wasn't me, then it would have been someone else. Someone else who didn't know you guys. Who would have came into the lab with the goal of simply pinning the missing evidence without regards to everyone else's careers." He informed her, a frown marring his features at the thought of it all. "They would have dug into your pasts and dragged it up again."

"And you didn't?" She replied. Although her words her sceptical and short, her smooth and Southern accent took the edge off them and presented it as a simple question.

"I know you guys, Cal. I knew it wouldn't have been any of you. But do you seriously think someone else would have looked past Ryan's gambling addiction? That they would've left Natalia's experience with Nick and the FBI alone?" Eric argued, trying his best for her to see it from his point of view. His words, he could tell by her softening stance, were sinking into her. Squeezing her hand lightly and grasping it in between his other one too, he added more in a tone that could only be described as loving. "That they would have left _you_ alone?"

"What about everyone else? There are more than the three of us in the lab." Calleigh countered, watching as his eyes skittered from hers down to their hands and back again as he let go of his gentle hold.

"I filtered everything I found, I promise. I didn't present anything that I wouldn't want anyone knowing about me. If it didn't seem relevant, I didn't acknowledge it." He stated, using his now free hands to emphasise his point like he often did. "I did it for the team. To protect you all from getting hung out to dry. I admit, the thought of someone else going through _your _file and learning things about you that only a few others know was another reason, but mainly, it was for the team."

The pause in the conversation lingered with tension as Eric waited to see if she really did believe what he was telling her. He could tell by the look on her face, a faraway one that she usually got when things began to click in her head during a case, that she was doing her best to understand what he was telling her. Her eyes has drifted to the space behind him, and he was sure that she wasn't seeing anything or anyone in particular, but merely piecing everything that she could together.

Choosing not to say anything until she did, Eric was surprised when she suddenly held out the file that was his back at him. She was nodding minutely, chewing on her bottom lip until he took it from her hands. Letting out a sigh and standing up straight once again, she broke out of her thoughts.

"Did anyone else know?"

"H. Right from the beginning, he knew." Eric replied, faltering for a spilt second. "And Natalia."

"You told her but not me?" She had tried to keep the hurt and disappointment out of her voice, but there was no way that he could miss it. Not from the small hitch in her voice or the emotions clearly shining in her eyes.

"I had to. She sussed me out." He tried to explained, hurriedly carrying on when he caught the flicker of anger pass through her face. Eric had known her long enough to know that it was the anger that was directed at herself and not at the other woman, wondering how someone else had figured it out and she hadn't. "It's wasn't anything like that, Cal. Her hearing aid picked it up the first time I came to the lab. I had to tell her if I didn't want her to doubt my intentions. I told her the truth straight out, and she agreed to keep it quiet, but she didn't like it."

"I guess that explains the tension, then." She concluded slowly, crossing her arms. "Explains a lot actually."

"I'm so sorry, Calleigh. If I had the choice, I would have told you." Eric said. She accepted his words for what they were, nodding to let him know so. He wasn't sure if it was an answer that would change with time to ponder over it all, but right then, he was glad that she _did _understand.

"Everything you told me, about working late and the meetings; they were true?" Calleigh asked him to make sure, peering at him with eyes that almost begged him to say 'yes'.

"I never lied to you unless I had to." He reassured her, a weight lifting off his shoulders when he saw her visibly relax and loosen up at his words.

"Ok." She offered him a sad smile that Eric vowed to himself to change into the real bright one she had always given him as soon as he could. "Where were you this morning?"

"I had to gather some more stuff for the case." Eric informed her, tapping the file in his hand against the palm of the other one. "I can't tell you everything yet, but when it's over, I will."

"_Is _it nearly over?" Calleigh questioned him, trying to slip into a professional mode but failing. The way his eyes shifted away from hers told her all that she needed to know. "You can't say. Ok."

"I'm sor-"

"Don't, Eric." She quickly cut him off gently, let out a long breath that seemed to relieve a load of stress too. Standing up straighter, she gave him a truer smile that showed him her understanding. "You can't go against your job."

"I am, though." He said nonetheless, referring to what he had tried to say before.

"I know." Calleigh assured him, reaching up to graze her hand down his front; eyes focused on her actions even as his were on her.

"Did you mean what you said? That you can't trust me?" Eric asked her quietly. She could see the trouble in his eyes when she glanced up, and she should have known that he would have taken note of those words the most.

"I didn't say I couldn't trust you." Calleigh reminded him, dropping her hand.

"It's the same thing." He would have scoffed if the thought of it wasn't so painful.

"I trust you. With my life. That'll never change." She told him matter-of-factly before pausing. Although inside she was sure she had never really truly lost any faith in him, she knew that there were a few things that needed clearing up before they got back on track again. " The rest… We'll have to talk about the rest."

"I'll explain it all. You're not losing me, I swear." Eric informed her with everything that he had and Calleigh gave him a glimpse of one of her smiles, albeit a bit restricted.

"You should go." She said instead, nodding to the area behind him where his boss would be waiting something. "You have a job to do and so do I."

"Tonight, alright? Not 'later', tonight." He repeated, catching her eyes until she crumbled under the resolve in him to set things straight again.

"Tonight." Calleigh agreed. Eric nodded before she took a step back with the intent of leaving, neither one saying goodbye in one way or another.

Turning around, Calleigh counted to ten before she snuck a glance over her shoulder again. She was glad that he was already starting to make his way over to where Nevins was waiting for him, especially when she could judge from the distance he had made so far that he must have stared after her for a few more seconds after she had left. She just hoped that he wouldn't get in trouble for being late, or talking to her. Although she didn't like what he was doing, it wasn't his fault that she had found out, and she sure as hell didn't want him to pay for something he had clearly put a lot of effort into.

She was just approaching her Hummer, reaching into her pocket for her keys as she crossed the road when a sudden heart stopping explosion sounded from behind her. On instinct, she whirred around to face the source of the sound. Hair stuck to her face as she did so, but it wasn't enough to block her sight.

Without even thinking about it, Calleigh was retreating on her steps and heading towards where the fire was currently burning up a car. Fear clenched at her heart as she refused to think about what she was really seeing, instead searching for the main reason she was still making her way towards the heat.

Smoke was starting to burn her lungs, and she tried her best to remain at a distance but it was impossible to stop her feet from taking her closer until she found what she was looking for. Because the car that had just exploded had been a silver one, and Eric was nowhere in sight.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Apologies for both the time taken to upload this and in advance for the length of this. I guess the latter explains the former, too. Please enjoy, and R&R._

* * *

The flames were still lapping up at the car that was now on it's roof and the smoke was getting thicker the closer she got to it, but it wasn't enough to stop her. The air was slowly diluting the hazardous pollution, and as she kept her head faced away from the source and took in shallow, quick breaths, Calleigh was sure she would be fine.

Her eyes scanned almost every inch of the area; ignoring anything that wasn't deemed important at that time and blocking out any sounds that should have alerted her, both as a CSI and cop, to abandon her search and focus on the more important factor of securing the area to make it safer. But she was Calleigh Duquesne, and once she got an objective in her head, she would see it through until the end no matter what, especially when it involved someone she truly cared for.

She wasn't sure how long it had been; just that it couldn't have been the hours that it had felt like. Finally, as she managed to kick her brain into gear and retrace the exact steps that she had taken from the place they had talked, Calleigh was able to spot a figure laying on the ground a few feet ahead of her.

"Eric!" She yelled, hurriedly making her way over. The closer she got, the clearer the sight of him became, and the more she could see him, the more urgent was the need to get to him. By the time Calleigh was by his side, he was already attempting to get up. Reaching him, the first thing that she did was to place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving any further before crouching down next to him.

"Calleigh?" He asked as she moved her hand up to his face. She wasn't sure whether it was out of shock or confusion, but after a second, watching him blink and recognition coming across his face, she figured it was simply a case of everything that just happened returning to him. "You ok?"

"_Me_?" Calleigh almost laughed. In fact, she was pretty sure she would have if she didn't think that any more exercise on her respiratory system would send her into a coughing fit. That, and the look of complete concern on the face of the man in front of her that was enough to break down even her resolve. "I'm fine. Are _you _ok? Are you hurt?"

"Yea- Yeah, I'm good." Eric replied distractedly, eyes jumping from her to the scene behind her and back again. Upon seeing a frown tugging lightly at the corners of her mouth, he covered the hand she had placed on his leg with his own and squeezed it gently. "I'm ok. Here; let me up. We- I need to go see if…" He trailed off, not having to say what he was thinking for her to know completely.

"You're bleeding." Calleigh sighed, helping him up nonetheless. She couldn't miss the slight waver in his stance as he got up to his feet, causing her to grab him tighter with an arm around his waist. Endless possibilities ran through her mind in an instant; all from head injuries to leg ones. There were visible scratches on the left side of his face, with a trickle of blood making it's way down his temple, and another on his collar. They didn't look deep, but it was still something. "Ok?"

"Yeah." He answered, pulling away from her as soon as he could with the intention on getting closer to the scene of the explosion to find his boss. "Call H and-"

"Eric, I'll go. You stay here. You're hurt." She cut him off, grabbing his wrist before he could take another step away. The small wince that he tried to hide didn't go unseen by her eyes at the action, but she knew she couldn't push it right then.

"Don't argue with me on this, Cal." He replied urgently, words borderline between pleading and demanding whilst trying to shake her hand off. "There are probably people here who are gonna need medical help-"

"Yes, like you!" Calleigh countered, loosening her grip to allow him to pull his hand free in hopes to reason with him easier. "I'll call it in, you know I will. But you're one of the people who need medical help, Eric."

"And it'll be you if you get any closer to the fire! I'm in a better state than you are." He retorted, staring her straight in the eye, almost as if to challenge her to tell him the opposite. His words had a different effect on her than if it had been from anyone else. Anyone else, she would have brushed off their words and gone against them, but coming from Eric, it only brought forth the stinging in her chest that she had somehow managed to successfully push to the back of her head momentarily. "Stay here, call the EMTs and H."

"Ok. Fine." Calleigh gave in, holding back a sigh of exasperation as she did so. A mere nod of thanks, or so she translated it to be, was all she got in response before he turned away and headed towards the centre of the scene with as much caution as he could.

Retreating backwards slowly, she watched him carefully as if to assure herself that he wouldn't simply collapse at any given moment. Telling herself that she was overreacting, Calleigh pulled out her cell from her pocket and immediately pressed the speed dial number for her boss.

…

It didn't take long for the EMTs to arrive; having been called by a passer-by minutes before Calleigh had had the chance to. She had lost sight of Eric almost as soon as she had turned away from him while on the phone, heading back to her car for her inhaler. Although hating to admit that she needed it, Calleigh made it a priority to keep it close by after what had happened to her only a few weeks beforehand, and right then, she was glad that she had.

After hanging up and slamming the door to the Hummer shut once again, she made her way over to where the ambulances had parked, along with the newly arrived fire rescue. There wasn't much for them to do until the fire-fighters had put out the flames, and as Calleigh got the jist of just how many people had been caught up in the blast, she spotted the returning figure of Eric out of the corner of her eyes.

Excusing herself to let the paramedics get back to work, she slowly made her way over to where he was heading, meeting him halfway as before, this time a few feet away from his car.

"There are only a couple of people who were injured. Nothing critical, or even bad enough to cause them a stay in hospital, thank God." Calleigh reported to him somewhat formally, eyes taking him in to see if there was any change in his wellbeing.

"The place was pretty empty. It's why we chose here to meet up." Eric replied with a small nod. She didn't miss the tightening of his jaw as he did so, and she was sure that it was due to pain. Nevertheless, neither one mentioned it for the moment, instead carrying on with what was important. "Did you find Rebecca?"

"Eric-" She began, losing her will to stay professional and taking a step closer to him. Taking his hand in hers and lowering her voice, she allowed it to say everything that she couldn't find the words to do so. "I think she was too close."

Neither one said anything in reply, choosing instead to stand in the prolonged silence in the middle of a scene that should have done anything but let them think. Calleigh watched as his eyes bounced around after breaking out of whatever thought had captivated him. From the grass to the side, to their joined hands; to the file in his other hand and then behind her to take the rush of the emergency services. Finally, they returned back to her own eyes.

"I know." He murmured, dropping her hand before reaching up unconsciously to rub at his aching temple. Calleigh managed to catch his wrist just as his fingers touched the congealed blood that was still slowly leaving the wound. Opening her mouth to tell him not to touch the injury in fear of aggravating it and causing serious consequences, she was beaten by Eric himself nodding at something over her shoulder. "CSI's here."

Throwing a look towards where he had indicated, Calleigh recognised the familiar cars that had pulled up, very similar to the one that she had arrived in not 30 minutes earlier. The first one out of the car was, predictably, Horatio. He stood momentarily to survey the scene although she had no doubt that he had already spotted the two of them through his dark sunglasses.

Turning back to the man in front of her, she smoothed her hand over his, not missing the feel of stickiness as his fingertips rubbed against her palm before letting go completely. The memory of what she had been wanting to say before he had interrupted her came back.

"Will you go get yourself checked out now?" Calleigh asked him tenderly. Although they hadn't shared a word since the EMTs had arrived, she could correctly assume that he would have warded any kind of help from anyone until everything else had been taken care of. A part of her adored him for it, knowing that it was exactly what she would have probably had done, whilst the other part wanted to yell and shout at his need to always put everyone else before himself.

"Will _you_?" Eric countered, raising an eyebrow as if to point out the predictable hypocrisy.

"I'm fine. I wasn't close to it." She brushed off softly in her typical nonchalance manner. Calleigh would have added a smile to reinforce her words, but not only wasn't it the time nor place, she really couldn't get her mind to focus on doing so. There were many other matters that had taken the forefront of her mind, most of which were surrounding her right then. "You were."

"I need to talk to H about something, first." He compromised, glancing over to where his former boss was standing, talking to a few officers. A bit away from him were the rest of the CSI team who were currently doing the same or getting out their kits. Eric couldn't ignore the suspicious and confused looks that they sent inadvertently every time one of them caught sight of him and Calleigh, sending his brain into overdrive as he thought about what to do. "Here. Do me a favour and put this in my car, would you?"

"Why?" She asked, perplexed with why he was subtly handing her the file in his hand to her.

"It's still supposed to be undercover, Calleigh." Eric told her, dropping his voice to ensure that no one else heard.

"All this, and you _still_ want to keep it quiet?" Calleigh's tone was full of incredulity, her eyes widening and eyebrows raising to emphasise the fact. Despite her words, she made sure to all the while keep her voice on the same volume level as his.

"I don't _want _to. I _have_ to." He said, words a mix of urgent harshness covered with a pleading for her to understand. "Please? Before the other's notice."

Calleigh paused for a second, watching him as he let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his head. The pain that it cause was clear in his eyes even if he didn't let his expression show it. Worry began to sink in, and gnawing on her bottom lip, she came to a conclusion that she knew was only due to the fact that she didn't want to be the reason for any added stress to him right now.

"I don't like this, Eric. I can't cover up a motive." She reminded him strictly while holding out her hand and allowing him to slide the folder over before adding his car keys to it too.

"You aren't. It's just something that can't get out until I've spoken to Horatio about it." Eric insisted caringly, letting his hand brush over hers as he retracted it. "Thank you."

"I'm telling you this right now. If somebody asks, in regards to all this," Calleigh told him, waving her free hand over at where the charred car was now sitting and then tapping the file in her hand. "I'm not going to lie."

"I know. I wouldn't expect you to." He assured her with a ghost of a smile.

"Ok." She merely replied, nodding and putting a bit more distance between them. "Go talk to Horatio, and then see a paramedic, yeah?"

"I will." Eric told her quietly.

Neither one said another word as Calleigh nodded and began once again towards his car. Unlike the last time she had walked away, she couldn't feel his eyes on her. By the time she had reached the vehicle, she knew he had already reached his destination. Opening the door and safely hiding the file under the passenger's seat, Calleigh stood back up straight to lock the car when she caught a view of Eric and Horatio talking. By their stiff postures and Eric's hand gestures, something that she had come to be able to interpret roughly from a distance, she was rightly able to judge that they had moved straight to the case in hand, just like the professionals that they were.

…

They stood in silence for a brief moment once Eric had finally reached him. The other CSIs and police officers got to work, but he didn't miss the questioning glances from both Natalia and Ryan. Horatio brought back his attention by a mere murmur of his name as he took off his sunglasses, followed by the one thing that Eric was scared of telling him.

"Rebecca?" Horatio asked him in his typical quiet and calm tone. Eric, however, knew that beneath the collected exterior, there was more than just a professional law enforcing officer.

"I'm sorry, H." He shook his head minutely, already having experience the havoc that a more aggressive action wrecked behind his eyes.

"Let's just be glad it's only the one casualty." Horatio replied, and Eric couldn't help but feel a bit relieved at his glass-half-full view on the events even if the said events were so tragic.

"Now what?" He asked, looking off into the distance in the general direction of the crime scene.

"Now, we do what we always do." Was the answer that he got, and Eric averted his eyes back again, waiting for the rest of the declaration. "We find out who did it."

"And the investigation? It's a motive. It's probably _the_ motive." Eric pushed with a slight agitation that he wasn't sure was due to the shock of what had happened wearing off or the opportunity to finish his undercover work.

"Where's the information now, Eric?" Horatio enquired, noticing the younger man's empty hands.

"I gave it to Calleigh to put in my car. I didn't want it getting into the wrong hands or getting out just yet."

"I don't think we have that option anymore."

"I didn't think so." Eric sighed, gently rubbing his aching wrist with a finger and his thumb as he thought about what the outcome of everything finally coming out would be. He had known from the beginning that his friends would be hurt when they found out. It had never been a question, and he was proven right by Natalia's original reaction on the first day.

"Ok, so this is what we're going to do. I'm going to need that file." Horatio informed him, fiddling with the frame of his glasses. Eric simply agreed and listened to what else his former boss wanted to do. "We'll process the scene like always and back at the lab, I'll fill everyone in. In the meantime, you get yourself checked out."

"H, it can wait." He brushed off instantly without a second thought.

"Eric. That's a pretty nasty cut." Horatio simply stated in a tone that had an underlying message to do as he was told. It was the little thing like these, he realised, that made him who he was.

"I want to help out." Eric replied, gazing back over to where the CSI team were processing the scene in a way to indicate how. He could feel the telltale burning of eyes into the side of his head every few seconds, and there was no doubt where they were coming from. Even as the rest of them went back to work, Calleigh included, he met the eyes of a certain co-worker who he had known would have been the most suspicious.

"The best way you can do that is by taking care of yourself." Horatio told him, not waiting for him to answer or argue to close the matter by changing the subject. "How's Calleigh?"

"She's ok." He informed him as he turned back again and exhaled deeply. "She wasn't near when it happened. I think she inhaled some smoke, but she seems to be fine. Then again, you know Calleigh."

"I'll keep an eye on her." Horatio assured him, although Eric was sure that it wasn't just for his benefit and peace of mind. The team was more like a family to each of them, and with Calleigh now being the longest member of that family, he knew how much the man in front of him thought of her like his own.

"Thanks." Eric muttered in reply, not sure whether to be glad that there was always someone there to look out for her, or guilty that it couldn't be him.

"It's not a problem." Horatio said while putting his glassed back on. "Now, go."

Eric didn't need telling twice that there was going to be nothing more that he could possibly add to their conversation. Nor that he could in any way fight against what he had been told to do. Giving in, he finally followed through with what he had promised Calleigh he would do and headed over to where EMTs were still parked.

…

He sat on the edge of the ambulance, eyes fixed on his fingers as they worked on rubbing off the dry blood from the tips of the other hand. The paramedic had only done patching him up before handing him a small alcohol swab to wipe away the remains of his injury from the miscellaneous places on his body. Luckily for him, that was only his fingers as the rest had been cleaned while the wounds that had caused the blood itself had been treated.

"Hey, what did they say?" A concerned voice that he could recognise even in his sleep came to him. Looking up, he was slightly surprised to see her right in front of him.

"Nothing too bad. A few stitches and a sprained wrist." Eric replied with a shrug and dropping the swab into the yellow, plastic waste bin next to him. He had taken his jacket off a while before and pushed up the sleeves of his shirt to allow the paramedic to tend to his injuries. Holding up the said wrist that was simply bandaged for support, he carefully lifted his eyes to hers and could almost predict her next words.

"And?" Calleigh pressed. Eric chose to stay silent for a few moments, watching her as she did the same to him. Her stance was strict and nearly professional if it weren't for the apprehension that was written over her face as she waited for him to conclude.

"A mild concussion." He admitted. His words caused her to relax slightly and change her position to stand by his side a bit closer than she had been before. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Well, I am worried." She frowned, peering carefully at the three stitches at his temple before taking a step back to resist the urge to reach out and brush her fingers over it in hope to sooth away the pain she knew it must be causing him. "Do you have to go to the hospital?"

"I'll go later. It's just a confirmation and to pick up some painkillers." He told her coolly, and if she hadn't been paying him her complete attention, she could have mistaken what he had said for something insignificant as the time.

"You _will_ go." Calleigh said in a voice that was as soft and polite as always, yet still portrayed her words as a demand. When he said nothing in reply, she raised an eyebrow and asked him in a challenging tone. "Eric?"

"I'll go." He assured her with a dejected sigh. "Just… later. After everything is sorted."

Choosing not to push the matter any further in fears of him going back on his word, Calleigh nodded and let go of the subject. She had just spent the past half an hour with the rest of her team, helping out with the investigation of the car explosion. So far, they had found plenty of possible leads. Any other day, it would have got her motivated to get back to the lab and begin processing. However, right then, the only thing on her mind was what was going to happen to the undercover investigation that had, quite literally, blown up in their faces. And even more, what would happen to Eric.

"What did Horatio say?" She eventually asked him. She didn't miss the way his eyes jumped from hers to the ground and then to his covered wrist where he was fiddling with the pin that held it together.

"He wants the file." Eric simply stated.

"Is he going to tell everyone?"

"When you guys get back to the lab." He confirmed. Letting out a sigh, a wry ghost of a smile formed on his lips as he looked at her once again. "I'm kind of glad I won't be there."

"They'll understand." Calleigh assured him immediately, even though if she was honest to herself, she wasn't quite sure herself whether she believed that or not.

"Have you?" He asked sceptically. Although his words may had suggested that he already knew and accepted the negative answer, she could see in his eyes that there was hope that she would reply the opposite.

"I'm getting there." She told him instead, knowing it was the best she could offered him without lying. "To be honest, right now, that's the last thing on my mind."

"Sorry." Eric apologized, knowing that she was thinking about the fact that he was injured and getting the person who had caused the explosion before they put them in danger once again.

"It's not your fault." Calleigh told him with a sweet smile. Lifting up a hand, she allowed it to run down his half covered arm as it to remind herself that he was still there. Letting it linger a bit too long to be classed as friendly at his hand, she retracted it and forced all the negative thoughts to the back of her head for the time being. "Look, I have to get back to the lab, but if you need something-"

"No, no, you go ahead. I need to take care of a few things for Rebecca." He interrupted her, clearing his throat to try and snap back into work mode so to focus his mind. It was the least that he could do for his deceased boss.

"Well, I'm keeping your keys to make sure you don't do something crazy and try to drive." Calleigh said lightly, laughing softly as she pulled out the keys from her pocket and hung them from her finger before clasping them tightly in her hand. "You got a lift?"

"Yeah. Someone from the State's Office is already here for the crime scene." Eric informed her. The simple sound of her familiar sunny voice and amusement, however small and quiet, was enough for a weight that he hadn't know that was there to disappear from his shoulders.

"Ok. I'll talk to you later."

"Cal?" He called out as she turned away to head back to her Hummer with the intent of going back to the crime lab. Grabbing her forearm to stop her before she could out of his reach, he smiled to himself for a split second as she spun around and looked at him in both a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Yeah?" She merely asked, and Eric was pretty sure that he could have asked her anything right then and gotten an answer. If he had thought she had been mad at him before, it was all proven wrong by a simple look into her clear, green eyes.

"You good? I mean, with the smoke and everything-" Eric questioned her instead, sticking with what he had originally stopped her for. In all the haste and worry about him, he had almost, _almost_, forgotten about her.

"I'm good." Calleigh assured him, smiling lovingly at him as he changed the grip on her arm to grasp at her hand lightly.

"Ok." He murmured, grazing his thumb over her knuckles a few times before letting her go once again. "See ya."

"Bye." She replied and walked away from him for the fourth time that morning.

His words played around in her head, both from before the incident and from a few minutes beforehand. With time, she knew that she would understand completely, but right then, the biggest fear was what everyone else would think or do. Calleigh's basis of forgiveness had came from a deeper level than theirs would, even if his lies hit her harder than them. Yet something told her that it wouldn't be that easy when it all came out.

…

"I can't believe it. He's meant to be a friend." Ryan fumed as they searched the charred remains of the car that once belonged to Rebecca Nevins. They had managed to have it transported to the garage in the crime lab after processing the primary scene to allow them to have a more thorough look. However, even as they looked at every little inch of the car with the utmost precision they could give it, conversation didn't cease. "I guess that was only while he was still working here."

"Don't say that, Ryan." Natalia replied in an exasperated tone. She had heard his anger about what Eric had been doing ever since Horatio had filled them in almost an hour earlier. Although he hadn't voiced it as he did right then, the mood and silent brooding was enough to get her on edge, waiting for him to give in and express it all.

"No? Well, why don't you tell me what I'm meant to say then? That I understand completely? That it's _alright_?" He asked her sarcastically, earning himself a raised eyebrow accompanied by a glare from the brunette from over what was left of the roof of the car they were examining.

"How about, that we should get back to work and find out who tried to _kill _him?" She answered with a heavy hint for him to leave things alone, though she knew it was never going to happen until he had everything out.

Instead of replying, Ryan sent her a look of disbelief that she simply shrugged in response to and got back to where she was going over what had been the driver's side of the car. Before she had had even the slightest time to possibly find something, another voice from the other side of the room behind her came to her. Their conversation, if it could be called that, wasn't a private or quiet one, Natalia knew that, but she had had no idea that the other two CSIs had been paying them any attention.

"I'm sorry, Natalia, but I've got to agree with him." Walter spoke up from where he was scouring over miscellaneous pieces of both the car and other objects from the surrounding area of the crime scene with Jesse. He had stopped for the time being and looked over at them as she turned from where she was crouched by the car's side. "I know I don't know Delko like you guys, but we're still a team. It ain't right."

"Exactly." Ryan agreed, although his words were directed towards Natalia as he peered at her from the other side of the car. He could see her shaking her head at the both of them before getting back to her job. "And, ok, it was his job and Horatio asked him to do it, but he didn't have to investigate us all without anyone knowing."

"I knew." She sighed quietly, not even bothering to keep it a secret anymore. Out of the corner of her eyes, trying to remain cool, she could practically see the shock all over her friend's face as he remained silent for a short moment that she knew was a cause of the statement.

"_What_?" He asked her incredulously.

"I knew." Natalia repeated. When she figured that her words weren't going to offer him the answers that he wanted, she gave up with the pretence of trying to do her work and stood up. Ryan did the same on the other side, meeting her eyes over the evidence like before. "The first day he came back? My hearing aid picked up the frequency of his wire. He confessed all."

"And you didn't think to say anything?" Ryan questioned her, his eyes piercing into hers.

"I couldn't!" She defended herself, finding her resolve breaking under his stare. When her reply failed to decrease the intensity of it, she carried on with a hint of irritation. "Look, I'm not saying that what he did was correct or anything, but if it's anything, Eric didn't lie to me when he could have. I think that should go for something."

"He still lied to the rest of us. His friends and colleagues who he's worked with for years. Heck, even his _girlfriend_, who he's known for…what? 12 years?" He scoffed with a roll of the eyes that broke off the boring gaze he had on her.

"He couldn't say anything. It's as easy as that." Natalia stated, reiterating what she had said before in her own defence. At his unimpressed look, she followed his actions of returning back to their work. Dropping her voice to a low utter, she carried on, almost to herself. "And there's a difference between lying and not telling everyone the truth."

"Not always." Ryan mumbled without even sparing her a glance, one that she failed to reply to, knowing that it would just give him more of a reason to rant.

…

Calleigh checked her cell phone discreetly as she made her way down to the garage from the trace lab. In the 3 hours that she had been back at the crime lab, she had analysed prints, tools and blood, but there hadn't been a call or text from Eric. Pocketing the device again, she busied her hands with the file that currently occupied them that she had just picked up from Travers.

She had debated calling him herself, or even leaving a mere text message, but those thoughts had been pushed away from her mind as quickly as they had came. Regardless of the day's events, they were both still at work. And while at work, she had tried to make it a rule to avoid being an overly worried girlfriend when they didn't see each other or speak for a long period of time. Of course, that didn't stop Eric from getting into contact with her every once in a while, stating that rules were meant to be broken. Not that Calleigh prided herself on being a rule breaker; in fact the opposite was true, but this was the one rule that she didn't mind breaking.

Yet, she still resisted the urge to call him. Rule be damned, she knew the deeper meaning to the reason why she kept on reprimanding herself whenever she contemplated it. The last thing she wanted to be labelled as, even by herself, was the clingy girlfriend who couldn't leave her boyfriend alone in fear of something happening. Truth be told, Calleigh knew that she was more concerned about the fact that _he_ himself might be more of a danger to himself than anything else.

Reaching the corridor that led towards the garage, she forced the thoughts away and did what she did best; putting on a professional façade. The cheerfulness that had always been associated with her was something that even she couldn't fake that day, and Calleigh was glad when no-one questioned or expected it from her.

As she pushed open the door, she realised once again why the others had all volunteered to do the hardest job and taken apart the car in hopes of finding some evidence. Without even saying it out loud, the four of them must have known that the burnt remains would mess with her respiratory system even without the smoke, especially after that morning.

A slither of a smile curved her lips as she made her way over to the table where Walter and Jesse were working. Not only was it the closest, but Calleigh didn't need to get any further than the threshold of the room to know that there was some kind of tension in the room. With the clear view that the two CSIs she was heading towards were working pretty happily together, it could only leave the other two.

"Hey, what's going on?" She greeted the two men, indicating towards the other two with a nod of her head. They both stopped their work and followed with their eyes before either chuckling lowly, from Jesse, or huffing, from Walter.

"Ryan's venting, Natalia's keeping him from blowing and we're still trying to find something in or on this." The latter explained to her, bringing a small, genuine smile to her face at his list. It was only when the words sunk in did the smile die down. She knew exactly what it was that Ryan would be venting about.

"Still nothing useful?" Calleigh asked them in regards to their work when she placed their stance and expression as exasperated.

"Not yet. At least, nothing that'll lead us back to the killer." Jesse answered, pulling another piece of evidence closer to him as he tried to find the origin of it. "It's going to take a while."

"Alright." She replied tiredly, trying her best to hide her disappointment. When the other two didn't question her upon her response, simply getting back to work, she figured she had done well. Deciding to leave them be in hopes they'll find something soon, Calleigh turned around with a bit of hesitation before making her way over to the other two. "Hey, guys. Find anything?"

"Still trying. You?" Natalia's reply came a beat later, glancing up at her from her position a few feet away.

"Everything seems to be homemade. I'd say it was done by a professional. Other than that; nothing." Calleigh replied with a hint of annoyance, something that the other female picked up on as she stood up and turned towards her.

"We'll get there." She assured her soothingly, making the blonde smile softly.

"We always do." Calleigh agreed, her words considerably lighter than before. She glanced quickly over at where Ryan was carrying on with inspecting the forefront of the car, wondering if he was being polite or ignoring them on purpose.

"How's Eric? Is he still at the hospital?" Natalia asked her in a quieter tone. If there was one thing that those who worked in their crime lab knew it was that Calleigh was a private person. But after years of friendship, Natalia knew that there were times when it became a must to cross that boundary, such as right then.

"No, he never made it there." She informed her, averting her eyes from hers to the side as the subject of Eric's injuries came back to her mind. Fiddling subtly with the edge of the manila folder still in her hands so not to let anyone else see her agitation, she tried to slip back into her professional mode as much as she could whilst carrying on. "He went to the courthouse first to take care of some things regarding the-"

"The investigation on us?" A voice cut her off. Although it had taken her by surprised, given that she could still see the man working intently as before on the car, Calleigh wasn't too shocked by his words.

"-the case." She finished off regardless.

"How can you still defend him after what he's done?" Ryan asked her incredulously as he stopped with what he had been doing and looked up at the two women.

"Because I know Eric and I trust him." Calleigh answered. Her words were simple and low; just loud enough so that only the three of them could hear.

"Yeah?" He replied sceptically, somehow portraying his anger even as he dropped his voice to her level. "And is that your professional opinion? Or your personal one?"

Calleigh chose not to reply straight away, knowing that if she did, it would only make matters worse. Instead, she glared at him with as much restraint that she could muster. The words to rebuke him on questioning her on her professionalism and personal relationship were at the tip of her tongue, but she managed to bite it back in a much practiced method.

"Look," She finally began after letting out a tired sigh. The compassionate side of her had won out in the end, reminding herself that she had expected this. "I get that you're upset. You have every rightto _be_ upset. But what Eric did, he did it because it was necessary. It was his job."

"One that we might have had to pay for with our own." Ryan countered, crossing his arms.

"Sure, if you have something to hide." Natalia added, hoping that it would put an end to the argument. However, the man carried on without hesitation, defying her terse tone that he had most likely not have taken any notice of.

"He went behind our backs and dug into our personal lives! Everyone has something to hide there."

"Would you rather that he had asked you straight out if you had stolen the diamonds, Ryan?" Calleigh argued challengingly, raising an eyebrow to emphasise her point and stand her ground while still trying to not disrupt the others who worked there.

"We all know how _that_ would have gone down." Natalia murmured sarcastically.

"He shouldn't have had to ask in the first place." Ryan retorted heatedly, though through his gritted teeth, it almost sounded like a growl

Calleigh opened her mouth to answer, hoping to play the mediator between the two and come to an agreement, one that she was sure wouldn't be possible without more time and the end of the case. However, before she could get a word out, she was beaten by the brunette next to her. Judging by the harshness of her voice, she figured that this conversation had been going on for a while longer than she had first thought. Calleigh had known Natalia to be a patient woman at times, only losing her cool with her friends at the rarest of moments, usually fuelled by high octane events. Unfortunately for Ryan, that day had been enough to put everyone on edge.

"Eric was only trying to protect the lab, Ryan. Protect _us_." She fumed, taking the other two CSIs next to her by surprise at her sudden increase in volume. Although not louder than a normal talking voice, the acoustics in the garage made it echo and the clipped words made it more clearer. "If it hadn't been him, then the State's Attorney would have sent someone else. How would you have liked it then? It had to be done. There was missing evidence, and someone was responsible for it. It's not like you can ask the CSIs to investigate when it _might_ have been one of us in the first place. Horatio asked Eric for a reason."

"Horatio asked Eric?" Calleigh asked before anyone else could respond to Natalia's rant.

"Yeah. Didn't Horatio explain to you?" She replied in confusion, watching as uncertainty played out on her friend's face before it was covered by a forced masked of nonchalance.

"No, I haven't spoken to him yet." Calleigh said with a short shake of the head. Her interest piqued as Natalia's words ran through her head once again. It had all been true; the same as what Eric has told her himself. Yet, there was that additional piece of information about Horatio being the one who had instructed him to do the job that he had failed to mention and she couldn't help but feel a bit hurt.

"So who told you about the investigation?" Ryan asked her curiously. She didn't need to answer for him to figure it out himself. "Right, Delko himself. Of course."

The deadpanned tone as he pursed his lips made it easy for Calleigh to read the man in front of her. They had known each other for years and she had experienced many different types of anger from him, all directed at different people. Regarding his defensive posture, with his arms crossed and tightened jaw, she could place this one well. She had seen it before many a times, and this time, her exhaustion kicked off the defensive mode in her.

"You want to know what I think, Ryan?" She asked him rhetorically, doing her best to keep her tone neutral and collected as possible. "I don't think you're angry at him, but more at the fact that you were kept in the dark and were being investigated. But imagine how Eric feels. You really think he wanted to betray your trust like that? All of ours? He _hated_ it, but he did it anyway so that we could be saved from the possibility of having our professional and personal lives ripped to shreds by some other person just to come to the same conclusion."

"It doesn't justify it." Ryan stated before letting out a sigh. His stance relaxed slightly and Calleigh could tell by the hint of embarrassment in his eyes that she had hit the nail right on the head with her assumptions.

"Maybe it doesn't, but it's the truth. He told me the same." Natalia answered with a small shrug. The tension that had been building between the three of them dissipated as Ryan returned back to the work he had been doing. "I was angry, too, at first, Ryan. But when I thought about it, I realised that I would probably have done the same thing."

"Perhaps that's a difference between us, then." He muttered under his breath. However, with the echo in the room, it was still loud enough for the woman closest to him to hear. Ryan barely had to glance up to know that Natalia's eyes were burning into the top of his head.

"Ok, you know what? What's happened has happened." She said with a tone of finality in her words. "And, yeah, fine, he lied and went behind our backs, but he didn't _want_ to. He did what he had to, and it sucks we were the ones that were caught up in it. But in the end, you have to get past it and focus on the bigger picture here."

"Which is?" He prompted.

"That someone, probably the same someone who's been stealing the evidence, killed Nevins and almost got Eric, too." She pointed out. Her last words brought them all back to reality.

"Natalia's right. We should get back to work." Calleigh told them after clearing her throat and resisting the urge to reach into her pocket once again. The other two nodded solemnly as she began to turn to walk away. Barely halfway, she twisted back again when the weight of the folder in her hands reminded her why she had come down there in the first place. "Oh, I almost forgot. Here, I got this from trace and thought it might help."

The small sounds of gratitude and farewells that she got as she left went right over her head. The only thing that she could think about was the cell phone in her pocket that now seemed to weigh the weight of the world. Doing her best to ignore it until she got into the elevator, Calleigh made a mental plan to head up to where she had came from and see if there had been any more progress on the case. But first, she mentally told herself, she had to make a stop to see Horatio and find out if what Natalia had said had been true.

…

He should have known that she would track him down when he had told her he was back at the lab. And that she would do so quickly and accurately. Yet, he hadn't expected her to be there with a frown on her face and a masked look of concern when he tilted his head up at the sound of her heels against the tiled floor came to a stop in front of him.

"You haven't been to the hospital." She stated as he sat up straighter and leaned back a bit.

"No." He simply replied, knowing that arguing or making up excuses would not get him anywhere right then. Watching as she let out a deep breath through her slightly parted lips, Eric couldn't help but feel guilty at the knowledge that he was the reason behind the worry that was clearly taking a toll on her. "I'll go. After I get more stuff sorted out."

"Why can't you get yourself sorted out first, and then everything else?" Calleigh asked him softly, resting lightly against the row of lockers behind her. "You could have been there and back by now."

"I know." Eric agreed easily. "But everything else can't wait. Not right now. Not right in the middle of a case."

"Eric, you were nearly blown up this morning. Don't you think you should be taking things a bit easy?" She reminded him with a small shake of the head. "Not to mention the injuries-"

"It's just a mild concussion, Cal. I've had worse." His attempt to make light of it all only got her more apprehensive. Eric watched as she stiffened slightly, standing up straight and taking a single step closer to where he sat on the bench. Her green eyes had turned into a shade darker than he was used to, telling him without words that she was thinking about something both serious and upsetting.

"Exactly. You've had worse." Calleigh repeated, emphasising the point before carrying. "You've had two brain surgeries in the past 3 years, Eric. Don't you reckon you should be a bit more concerned about another head injury?"

"Calleigh-" Eric began before changing his tactic. "Look, they said it was ok. I'm not going to _not_ go. I promised you. Just… not right now. You understand, right?"

"That you have to do this for Rebecca? Yes." She answered with a short nod and a pause. "Not that you won't go now."

"Cal-"

"_But_ I'm not going to push you." She cut him off gently and with a ghost of a smile on her face. "If you think you're ok, then I'll accept your judgement."

"Thank you." He replied, his posture relaxing at her words. Somehow, he had managed to evade the dull thumping of his head so far, as if to prove a point to the woman in front of him even though she had no idea of the fact. But now, as he let down his defence, it came back and it was all he could do to not wince.

"Just…" Calleigh started, trailing off with a sigh. Dropping her voice a level or two in volume, she tilted her head a bit as she held his eyes. "Please don't be wrong."

"Hey, I'm not." Eric assured her caringly. Reaching out of her hand, he was glad for the hundredth time that day that they were alone once again. Even in the locker room, he knew it was still against her _rules, _especially when they were both working a case, but right then, he didn't care. Caressing her hand gently with his thumb, he kept his eyes on her as she watched their joint hands. A tired smile tugged at his lips when she laced her fingers through his and left it there for the time being.

"Can I ask you something?" Her cautious voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Sure."

"This morning, when you told me about the investigation and everything." Calleigh said, eyes jumping from their hands to his eyes and back again. He couldn't ignore the way her brow furrowed as she carried on or the anxiousness on her face. "Why didn't you say that it was Horatio who asked you to do it?"

"Does it make a difference?" Eric shrugged coolly.

"Yes." Her reply made his lose his casualness about the topic; instead raising an eyebrow of disbelief at her.

"You trust his choices more than mine?" He asked her.

"No, it's not that." Calleigh told him, pulling her hand out of his and running it through her hair. "I just… I thought you did this for the S.A.. Not for the lab."

"I did it for both." Eric informed her carefully as she nodded and bit her lower lip before carrying on.

"So you weren't lying when you said you were helping out with some cases to lighten the load?" She questioned him. Her words were hesitant, almost as if she didn't really want to know the true answer if it was going to be the negative outcome.

"No." He answered honestly, holding her eyes to make sure she believed him. "I told you; I didn't lie to you unless I _had_ to."

"That's the thing, Eric. How do I knew what's a lie and what wasn't?" Calleigh replied with a subtle shrug of her shoulders. Her words showed him a vulnerable side of her that he had rarely experienced or seen; even less at work.

"Ask me. Ask me anything, any moment, any word I said. I'll tell you if it was a lie or not." He insisted openly. When she failed to answer, he kept watching her, waiting for her eyes to return to his, only for it to not. Knowing that the events of the day along with the new found information he had given her must have her head spinning, Eric nodded to himself and carried on. "If you want to leave it until later, that's fine."

"I want to just forget about it all, to be honest." Calleigh murmured in reply, staring at the ground for a second before up at him again.

"We could do that." He told her, allowing a grin to form on his face as she rolled her eyes amusingly.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" She joked, a smile curving her lips up, too. Her mood remained lighter and her tension loosened even as she slipped back into a more professional mode. "Not yet. At least, not until it's over with in the lab."

"How did everyone take it?" Eric asked her. He hadn't had enough time yet to have a good tour of his old workplace, but from the way he had felt eyes on him all morning at the crime scene itself, he knew it wouldn't have been brushed off.

"Alright, I guess." Calleigh said, trying to play it as easily as she could. "Ryan's the most angry."

"I thought he would be." He replied, not surprised at all after all the times he had felt the other man's eyes burn into his head.

"Try and stay clear of him, yeah? For the time being so that he can calm down. The last thing we need is an argument." She advised him, hoping that he would do as she asked. Though the crime lab itself was a small place, and with the tempers that the two men had, she knew it was very unlikely that they would avoid each other the whole day. She just hoped they wouldn't be alone when they did have to see each other.

"I'll try my best." Eric simply told her and she nodded. Silence enveloped them for a moment as he sat up straighter and allowed his eyes to take her in from head to toe and back up again in the small moment where she wasn't paying him any attention. "How are you doing? You still feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Calleigh insisted with a smile and a shake of the head; her typical cheerful tone underlying her words even if it wasn't pronounced enough like every other day.

"You always are." He chuckled as she half rolled her eyes. Even though they had managed to move past the serious conversation, there was still something else playing on his mind and Eric knew he had to get it out before they carried on with their work. "Listen, Cal. I'm sorry that I gave you a reason to doubt me and to stop trusting me-"

"I didn't stop trusting you." She corrected him hurriedly. Eric gave her a look that she could only translate to saying '_I know you better than that_' and she changed her words with little quirk of her lips. "Ok, maybe it began to _falter_, but it never broke."

"I'm still sorry. You shouldn't have even been there. The whole thing was dangerous from the start, and I shouldn't have let you get involved." He apologized sincerely, and it was all Calleigh could do to not laugh at his last words. She wasn't sure whether to be offended or feel guilty by the assumption that it was all his fault.

"You didn't _'let me' _anything." She told him, scoffing playfully until another thought crossed her mind. It had been playing back and forth in her head ever since her conversation with Natalia and Ryan, but the game of 'what ifs?' had been put on halt until right then. "Besides, if I hadn't been, there would have been two bodies instead of the one, Eric."

"You following me saved my life." Eric reasoned in a tone that told her that he had just realised what she had figured out hours before.

"Yeah. For the first time, I'm glad I did doubt you." Calleigh said, hoping that her words came out as jokingly as she wanted them too. However, a mere glance at his face and seeing his concerned look told her otherwise. Clearing her throat, she added solemnly. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't." He assured her, but she shook her head at his words.

"I'm serious, Eric. Don't do it again. I don't think I could take it. I went through it all with Jake…" Calleigh trailed off, taking in a breath as she tried her best to hold of any emotions that threatened to spill over with her gently pleading. "I can't do it with you."

"I _won't_." Eric repeated, empathically while standing up as if to emphasise his words.

"Thank you." She whispered, nodding, as he took a few more steps closer to her until there was only a foot between them.

"Thank _you_." He replied in kind, brushing a hand down the length of her arm.

"For doubting you and inadvertently saving your life?" Calleigh asked while pulling her arm away from his reach. She didn't miss the look of hurt and confusion that flittered over his face at her actions.

"That, and for understanding." Eric told her instead,.

"You were right. It was your job. And as much as I hate it, it's true. Just please don't let it be your job again."

"I promise." He reiterated, making sure that she took his words for what they were. Her eyes seemed to read his before she simply nodded and closed the space between them. Pushing herself up onto her toes, Calleigh wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him into an embrace. She didn't have to wait long for it to be tightened as he looped his own around her slim waist.

Resting her head on his shoulder and tucking her face momentarily into his neck, they both drew comfort out of their closeness. Barely allowing themselves to indulge in such a comfort at work, usually due to her and her need to keep personal from professional, they took all they could from it. Tears began to push at Calleigh's eyes, and she remembered once again why she tried to keep this away from work. Breaking down wasn't something that she wanted to do, ever, if it could be helped while there.

"Love you." Eric murmured into her ear as she slowly loosened her hold on him and began to slip away.

"You, too." She replied, a smile shining on both her face and in her eyes as she did so. He managed to press his lips to hers before she got too far, and although she responded at first, it didn't take long for her to reluctantly pull away. "Hmm… Not here."

"I know, I know." He sighed, dropping his arms from around her waist and allowing her to step away. Before either one of them could say or add anything else, the buzzing of both their cell phones caught their attention. Digging them out with the same level of enthusiasm and dread, a simultaneous sigh left them both. "Back to work?"

"Back to work."

…

The rest of the day carried on with more findings and more links, eventually leading them to the perpetrator of the bombing. It had been an unpleasant feeling, to be so close to the person who could have taken one of the most important people in her life away from her just that morning. But she had sucked it up and done it, all the time reminding herself that spending the rest of their life in prison was a fate much crueller than the wrong end of her gun.

Calleigh now felt like she could finally breathe freely. With justice being served and knowing that they had all played a part of it, she had lost the adrenaline rush and let it die down into physical exhaustion. The only thing that would have made her night perfect would have been the knowledge of a good night's sleep. However, that night, she would be up every few hours, waking Eric up along with her to make sure he was alright.

Letting out a heavy sigh as she urged away the dropping of her stomach at the thought of his injuries, she pulled on her jacket from her locker after depositing her work items into it. The room was empty; the sound of the buttons on her jacket clanging loudly against the metallic locker door. The sound was soon joined by the telltale footsteps of a man, Calleigh placed, and it wasn't long before he appeared opposite from her.

"What a day, huh?" Ryan asked with a scoff. Shaking her head in agreement, she turned around after gathering her things and shutting the locker door. "You heading home?"

"Yup." Calleigh replied, smiling softly as he tucked his hands into his pants pockets.

"To Eric?" He asked her, taking her slightly by shock at his upfront question. Before she could reply, a sheepish look shone on his face as he quickly tried to rectify what he had said. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like-"

"It's alright. I know." Calleigh cut him off in her typical soft and polite manner, with a airy wave of a hand. "And yes."

"Listen, tell him-" Clearing his throat, he broke off and adjusted his stance a bit. It was in the same way that he usually did when he had to admit to being wrong, so Calleigh simply waited until he finished. "Tell him I said I hope he gets better soon."

"I will." She assured him. He offered her a curt nod before turning around to his own locker. Knowing that that was the end of the subject, Calleigh let out a breath, one that was filled with surprised relief, and began to head towards the doors out of the room. However, she had only gotten a few feet away when she stopped and turned back to him. "Hey, Ryan?"

"Yeah?" He replied, tearing his attention away from what he was doing to look over at her.

"Thanks." Calleigh told him gently. A reply in the form of another nod was all that she got, and she was glad that that was it. It was plain, simple and easy; just like the decision to forgive had been, even if there had been time involved.

Finally leaving the locker room, she fished out her cell phone to check the time. As expected, there were two missed calls and another text message from Eric that informed her to spend the night at his place. Not one to argue with a good idea, she replied in turn and made her way to her car.

Although the plans for that night weren't as ideal as she had hoped, Calleigh made the conscious decision to simply enjoy what they could of the time. They had talked enough that day, and no doubt, he would still have a headache from his injury. After knowing him for so many years, she knew how stubborn he could be when it came to taking pain medications. Or any medications in that case.

However, instead of complaining about it, she tried to look at the bright side of it. Without the undercover job, Eric now had no reason to be so agitated and on the edge all of the time. She could have her boyfriend back in the way that she wanted; no lies, doubts or uneasiness. Making it through that night, the first after so long where she was sure he would sleep without any disturbances except from her, would be a luxury. Even with the disturbances they'll both have to suffer every couple of hours, there was no doubt in her mind that she would rather have one night of interrupted sleep and deal with a grouchy Eric the whole way through, and possibly the next day, than have to suffer what could have been a far, far worse alternative.


End file.
